Bittersweet
by emeraldorchid
Summary: Life is difficult but for a juunishi, life is a curse. It is an existence plagued with hatred and despair; where hopes and dreams are as delicate as a butterfly's wings. Once broken, the curse has returned. Can the new generation of Sohmas dare to dream?
1. Prologue

Prologue

The clock was ticking. Every swing of the pendulum of the grand-father clock echoed throughout the hallway, reaching Kohana's ears as she lay on her bed. Beyond the window of her room, she watched as the snowflakes danced against the wind and she felt a pang of envy. Envy for their freedom, envy for their fleeting lives.

_Born and gone within the blink of an eye…a snowflake's fleeting life. _Kohana mused.

Casting aside her blankets, Kohana sat up from her bed and shivered. Of all the seasons in the year, she hated winter the most. It was too cold for comfort and despite the layers of clothing that she already wore, along with the warmth provided by the heater, she could still feel its icy tendrils nipping against her flesh.

With a groan, she stood up from her bed and walked towards her cabinet. Putting on another layer of clothes, she grabbed her camera and walked outside her room. She was greeted by the loud ticking of the clock. Each sound was a mocking reminder of her freedom and it made her wish that time would come to a halt...that New Year's would never arrive.

Clutching her camera, she trudged down the winding staircase of their home. Striding past the living room, she opened the door to her front porch and stepped outside the house. She immediately felt the cold kiss of the season against her skin of her face and shivered, making her wish that she had not abandoned her decision to buy a ski mask. An image of her walking through the streets wearing a ski mask appeared in her mind and she scoffed. It was probably a good thing that she had forgone the decision. Wearing one would make her look like a mugger and probably merit a free trip to the nearest police station.

Gripping her camera tightly in her hand, she pointed the lenses towards the falling snowflakes and began taking pictures.

Flash. The clock in the hallway ticked and a car sped past. It was five minutes to twelve.

Flash. She could her laughter floating in the air and the clock ticked once more. It was four minutes to twelve.

Flash. The Christmas lights placed on the trees leading to the main house were turned on and the pendulum swung once more. It was three minutes to twelve.

Flash. A sweet melody permeated the stillness of the night and Kohana knew, it was two minutes to twelve.

Silently, she checked her pictures and went inside the house. She could hear the ticking of the clock and wordlessly, she watched as the hand moved. It was one minute to twelve. She watched and waited for the clock to chime. Standing alone in front of the grandfather's clock, waiting for it to announce the arrival of the New Year, had been her yearly custom ever since she was a child. The start of every year was her birthday. It also reminded her of the transient freedom she held and of her curse. The curse of the cat.

The second hand sped past the face of the clock. Kohana gripped her fingers tightly and she wished for the same wish that she had had since she was a child. She wished for time to stop. It never did and she knew that it never will.

The clock chimed, the sound resonating throughout the empty house filling the halls and the unoccupied rooms as it announced the arrival of the year. Kohana felt the painful clench of despair consume her and a tear slid down her cheek. She only had 365 days of freedom left.

X

_Within the Sohma Estate…_

The banquet had started and other than the occasional clatter of porcelain against silver, the room was silent. The Juunishi were all seated in a long dining table covered with white satin sheets. The cloth was designed in such a manner that at the side of the table they cascaded in waves. Each of the juunishi was seated according to their rank and at the head of the table sat the head of the family, Leiko Sohma, the God of the zodiacs.

Positioned at the head, the woman exuded authority. Her face was pale and her high cheek bones amplified her sunken cheeks. Her thin lips were pursed in disdain and her almond shaped eyes mirrored contempt. She wore a traditional kimono and her long black hair was styled into a bun, pinned back by twelve ornamental chopsticks. At the tip of each chopstick, was a jade containing the kanji of a zodiac animal.

In silence, she watched them eat. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as her teal eyes fell on each of the juunishi, they were all worthless. However, she could not help but gravitate her gaze at the juunishi occupying the boar's seat. At the far end of the table sat Hiroshi, and a lazy smile played on her lips as she watched him forcefully swallow each bite. It was an unlikely behavior for a pig.

"Hiroshi, is the food not to your liking? Or is there something in your mind" She asked, her voice was like a whiplash which pierced through the silence of the room.

Hiroshi looked up from his plate and forced a smile.

"The food is excellent, Leiko-sama" He replied, choosing to avoid answering the latter question. She noticed it and she laughed. It was a soft sound which drifted across the room like a specter, chilling the blood of the remaining juunishi.

"Just like a pig, all you can think about is food" She mused "And here I was thinking that you were worried about Kohana" There was no response. Narrowing her eyes, she further goaded the boar.

"Poor girl, she constantly spends her birthday and new years alone" Leiko continued "Born as monster, lives as a monster and treated like a monster. I thought you actually cared for her that was why I allowed you to become her guardian"

The muscle on Hiroshi's jaw clenched and Leiko smirked.

"Bad blood is bad blood. It makes me wonder if the case you filed against your father in order to gain her custody was all just an act" She drawled "It was the best I've seen though, it showed me your prowess in court"

Upon hearing her reply, a smirk tugged at the younger man's lips. Deliberately, he slowly finished chewing his food before replying.

"Bad blood…"Hiroshi paused, took a sip from his glass of red wine and smiled "Is what we both share Leiko-sama. After all, our fathers were twins"

Silence stretched across the room and the remaining juunishi tensed as they braced themselves for the torrent of rage from their household head. Instead, they heard her bark in laughter.

"Hiroshi, your reasoning skills are sub-par to arrive on conclusions based on logical fallacies" she crooned "Our fathers may have been twins but your mother was an illiterate whore"

Hiroshi remained silent and Leiko allowed a triumphant smile to tug at her lips. Casting a furtive glance at the wall clock, she saw that it was almost one in the morning.

"I will rest for a while" She announced "I will return fifteen minutes before the start of the ceremonial dance. Seiji, come with me. I wish to know the status of our ongoing negotiations with Kaneshiro enterprises"

Two seats away from her right, a middle aged man with glowing green eyes and ginger hair wordlessly stood up from his seat. He strode towards Leiko and offered his hand.

Silently, the juunishi watched their god leave the room hand in hand with her one of her favored juunishi. Each breathed out a sigh of relief as they watched Seiji Sohma, the tiger, close the large oak doors. The eleven remaining members of the juunishi visibly relaxed in their chairs and the oppressive atmosphere in the room gave way to amicable laughter as the cousins bonded. They would have three hours of freedom from her oppressive presence. However, despite the change of atmosphere, Hiroshi could not bring himself to enjoy the banquet.

'You fool' Hiroshi thought to himself as he took another sip of wine. Angrily, he fixed his gaze at the clock and clenched his jaw. Despite his efforts to contain himself, he had lost his temper…the bitch always knew which buttons to press. 'Damn her' He inwardly cussed. Retreating to his thoughts, he began to calculate the possible consequences of his actions. He was pulled away from his thoughts when he felt a small hand gently being placed on his shoulder.

Yumi, worriedly bit her lip and gave Hiroshi's shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

"With business on her mind, she will most likely let this incident pass" She re-assured him. In reply, Hiroshi held hand and sighed.

"Let us hope so or our work would be in vain" He darkly replied.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I last updated my fanfiction account with a new story.

This story is actually a revised version of the first story that I have written here in fanfiction: Bittersweet love. However, I have added, and will be adding, quite a number of changes making it slightly different from the original story that I first wrote. Reason's for my revision? Well, I re-read the story a few months ago and I felt that the pace was too fast. It was also lacking quite a few things, such as character development. Thus, I decided to re-write it in-order to strengthen the plot and to, hopefully, give you guys a better reading experience.

I hope you guys will enjoy this new version of Bittersweet love :).


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A Tearful Confession

It was New Year's Day and the weather seemed to welcome the coming of the year. It was unusually sunny for winter and bright rays of sunlight filtered through the clouds, illuminating the powdery haze of snow lying on the ground. It seeped through the windows of Kohana's home, softly giving the objects that it struck a golden glow.

Sitting in the living room, her laptop placed on her thighs, Kohana scanned through the folders containing the pictures that she had taken for the past few days. Each of the pictures contained a different story, snapshots of life that she wished to remember during her confinement. One was a picture of a snow-covered park filled with children building snowmen. The next picture showed a group of laughing boys hiding behind a crudely built snow fort whilst their enemy peltered them with snowballs. Another depicted a smiling couple sitting on a bench, enjoying a cup of coffee as they watched the children play.

After spending a few minutes browsing through the folders, she clicked on the folder of selected pictures to edit and print. Opening the program Adobe Photoshop CS, she clicked on a few selected pictures and began to edit them by adjusting their saturation and hues. Before she could finish editing the second picture, she heard the doorbell ring. Slightly annoyed for being disturbed from her work, she placed her laptop on the couch and marched towards the door. Standing on her toes she peeped through the peephole and her brows furrowed in confusion. It was her brother and Yumi-nee. Quickly, she unlocked the door and opened it.

"Nii-san? Nee-chan? What are you guys doing here?" She asked. Upon hearing her question Hiroshi sighed and lightly rapped on his younger sister's forehead.

"We ditched Leiko to keep you company for your birthday. Tsk, teme, invite us in before you interrogate us ne? It's cold out here" He informed her as he walked inside the house and headed straight to the kitchen.

"It would be pointless considering that you just invited yourself in" Kohana mumbled in annoyance. From the kitchen she could hear cupboards being opened, the clang of utensils and the door of the refrigerator being slammed shut. Kohana glanced at her wristwatch and shook her head in disbelief; five hours had passed since the banquet and her brother was already raiding the kitchen.

'_He's like his zodiac in more ways than one…_' Kohana wryly thought.

"May I come in?" A soft voice asked. Flustered, a quick blush rose on Kohana's cheeks as she remembered that she had forgotten to invite Yumi in.

"Nee-chan, I'm sorry for making you stand outside in the cold. Please, come inside and have a seat in the living room. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?"

Hearing the younger woman, Yumi smiled.

"Hana-chan, happy birthday and please, you don't have to be so formal" She told her. Kohana blushed and looked down at the floor.

"Gomen ne nee-chan. It's just that I haven't seen you in a while, I was taken by surprise" She apologized. Yumi nodded, understanding dawned in her sorrel eyes.

"It has been three years, hasn't it?" Kohana nodded in agreement.

Kohana studied Yumi and her brows were furrowed with concern. Yumi had aged beyond her years. She had lost weight, causing her cheeks bones to protrude from her sunken cheeks. Faint lines at the corner of her eyes betrayed the formation of wrinkles and Kohana wondered how many white hairs, due to stress, the older woman would be sporting if her hair wasn't naturally white.

Three years had passed since Yumi last saw her cousin and within a span of three years, the young girl had blossomed into a woman. Her mahogany hair was longer, pin-straight, it flowed past her hips like a river of molten chocolate. Kohana had also grown. When she last saw her, she was a whole head taller than the girl. Now they stood eye-to-eye. Eyes, which Yumi noticed, seemed to be brimming with silent grief. In such a short span of time the girl had grown and guilt weighed on the older woman's conscience; she felt that she was standing before a stranger.

Wordlessly, Yumi hugged the younger girl as a form of silent apology. "I'm the one who should apologize for being such a workaholic,"

"Of course not nee-chan!" Kohana cried "Running a hospital must be difficult. I understand the reason why you've been so busy. How is it like? How are you?" Yumi let out a light laugh and looked away.

"Just as you say, it is difficult but I'm fine. What about you? How are you?" Kohana bit her lip and craned her neck as she tried to get a glimpse of her brother in the kitchen.

"Can we talk inside my room nee-chan?" Kohana asked. "I don't want nii-san to hear" she added in a whisper.

Yumi nodded in reply and stood up from the sofa. The door was slightly ajar as they passed the kitchen; peering through cracks she caught a glimpse of Hiroshi who was wearing an apron and stirring the contents of a steaming pot. From the smell, she could guess that he was making curry and she felt her stomach grumble as she remembered the taste of his cooking. Yumi smiled, leave it to Hiroshi and his cooking skills to elicit a response from her bloated stomach.

The two walked further down the hallway and up the winding staircase until they finally reached Kohana's room which was situated in the second floor along with Hiroshi's room, study and the mini-library.

"We're here' Kohana announced as she opened the door and walked inside the room.

Yumi was slightly taken by surprise when she observed that the room had also changed since her last visit. For one, it was much neater. A glass-case cabinet now occupied the far-side of her room. It contained Kohana's Barbie dolls and stuffed toys, remnants of her childhood which used to litter the carpeted floor of her room. The wallpaper of the room had changed and framed photographs replaced the anime posters which once dominated the once-pink walls of her room. In addition, there was now kotatsu in the middle of the room.

"I like what you've done to your room. Do I smell jasmine?" Yumi asked as she sat down on the floor and placed her legs under the kotatsu. Her question was answered when she spotted the air freshener on Kohana's study table.

"Thanks" Kohana smiled. She closed the door to her room and sat opposite to Yumi. She flipped the switch on and smiled "I just love kotatsus during winter" Yumi nodded in agreement.

"Nee-chan, how are you?" Kohana asked.

"I'm stressed. It's truly tiring to both manage a hospital and be the family doctor" She admitted. "It drains you"

"But it's not that difficult, is it?" Kohana asked. Yumi shook her head and smiled.

"No, I love my job" Came her reply. "Kohana, you've grown so much. How are you?" Yumi asked, her eyes fixed on the younger girl.

"Well, I'm doing well in school. I've also taken up a new hobby" Kohana informed her, waving a hand towards the framed pictures. "My love for photography started two years ago" She explained.

Yumi stood up from her and inspected the pictures that were mounted on the wall. They were mostly pictures of nature and of buildings reaching out to the skies. There was one picture that was bigger than the rest and it portrayed the Fuji Mountain, backed with a sky of pink and indigo hues. "They're beautiful"

"Thank you, I won second place in a competition with that picture of Mount Fuji" She shyly admitted.

"Tell me more, how was life for the past three years?" Yumi asked as she resumed her seat.

To Kohana, Yumi was both the mother and sister that she never had, and without hesitation she began to narrate her life for the past three years. She told her about her friends, crushes and experience in school. She spoke about her hobby, photography, like a child giddy with happiness and she confessed about the occasional disagreements she had with her brother. She spoke until her voice grew hoarse, Yumi sat and listened, occasionally adding a comment or two.

"Nee-chan, I'm glad you came for my birthday. It's been a while since I had someone to talk to" Kohana admitted. "Nii-san, he's not a very good listener but I guess you already know that" she hesitantly added.

"Yes, he treats conversations like a debate" Yumi agreed with a smile, followed by a short laugh as she remembered her childhood with Hiroshi and their numerous altercations. There was a slight pause and the two girls sat in silence.

"Nee-chan, can I ask you something?" Kohana asked anxiously, breaking the silence.

"What is it?"

"Do you know…about my confinement?" She whispered.

There was a pregnant pause as Yumi carefully assessed her reply. Silently, Yumi reach across the table and held the young girl's hand. "Yes, I do" She admitted.

"I'm _scared_" Kohana confessed in a quavering voice.

The confession refreshed the dam of emotions that she had been experiencing for the past few days. Pain, grief, fear, coursed through her and a tear slid down her cheek. Kohana quickly wiped it with the back of her hand only to discover that it was followed another tear, and another until her cheeks were fully stained with its salty stream. Sobbing, she pressed the back of her sleeves against her eyes as she continued to cry.

Taking pity of the younger girl, Yumi stood up from her seat and sat beside Kohana. Gently, she embraced the crying girl and waited for her tears to subside. Valiantly, she tried to blink back her tears as she listened to her weep.

"You brother and I are doing everything we can to prevent it from happening" Yumi whispered.

"I don't want to go back to that place…" She painfully cried.

"We're doing everything we can to sway Leiko-sama's decision" Yumi assured Kohana. Yumi fixed her gaze heavenwards and offered a silent prayer to the gods; beseeching for a miracle that could save Kohana from her fate because in her mind she knew, that it would take more than a miracle to sway Leiko's decision.

_Kami, help us…_

* * *

><p><em>Thank you for the review :)<em>


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